A tale of kumquat weaponry, and Muffins (Whole Wheat kumquat muffins)

My last Hollygrove box had kumquats in it.  Kumquats are like tiny oranges.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them.  The only thing I know about kumquats is that they can be used as a weapon.

One lovely afternoon many years ago, my friends and I were sitting in my friend Laura's backyard day drinking and making party cups for our annual girls beach trip (R.I.P.)  All of a sudden, we started getting pelted with these tiny orange balls.  Turns out there was an unattended 8 year old boy with a kumquat tree in the neighboring yard.  We memorialized the attack on a paper plate with a sharpie like any memory should be properly preserved.

So anyway, I had these kumquats and googled, "what do I make with kumquats" and found a recipe for these muffins from my local paper.  I had everything on hand but the cherries and I decided against making a special trip just for them.  I am sure they would have been a nice addition, but these were just fine the way they are.  I gave some to each of my sister's family and some to my gentleman caller and all had good things to report except the 5 6 year old nephew.  I also got a "Is this healthy?" from the oldest niece.  So I say they were healthy and delicious!  You should try them if you ever have kumquats in your possession.  Is this just a New Orleans thing?  Do you know kumquats?  What do you do with them if so?  Full recipe to follow the montage.

This did not make a dozen as advertised.  Story of my life!

The cast.  This is a sad looking photo.  Can't wait to start posting with my new camera!

Peeling kumquats is a time intensive chore.  I tried to pare them but then just squeezed.
Make sure you get all the seeds!

Blend it up with some OJ.  I used freshly squozen.

Mix your dry

And your wet.

Make a well in the dry and pour in the wet.

And mix.  Again, can't wait for posts with the new camera! And daylight at normal hours.

Scoop them in and bake them up.

Kumquat Muffins (adapted from the Times Picayune/NOLA.com)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2-1/4 cups cleaned, seeded kumquats
1 egg
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tins with cooking spray. Blend cleaned kumquats and orange juice on high until smooth. Add kumquat/juice mixture to the rest of the wet ingredients in bowl. Add cherries to wet ingredients and stir to coat. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl; then add nuts to dry ingredients and toss to coat. Make a well with dry ingredients and add wet ingredients to dry, mixing gently but thoroughly. Pour batter into greased muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes on a cookie rack; then remove muffins from pan.

Happy Cooking!

Missy